As 2011 closes in on us, we at Produce West would like to wish everyone a HEALTHY, SAFE, and PROSPEROUS 2012!

Still some cold nights in the desert growing regions in Yuma and Coachella Valleys, but, fortunately, not as cold as they had a few weeks ago.  This morning, for instance, there is a late start to harvesting due to lettuce ice. The workers are doing a very nice job trimming off the freeze-effected leaves on lettuce, romaine, and leaf. Still, there ARE problems showing up, and will continue to show up for several more weeks, even if we don’t get any more freeze. The days are warming into the mid to high 70s the next 10 days, and NO rain in sight.

Trucks are a bit tight this week, due to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, and what few trucks that are available are asking for more money to Midwest and eastern destinations. Overall business for just about all veg items are slow.

LETTUCE–little demand and weak market. That about summarizes the lettuce deal, and we don’t see much change for the next 2 weeks, depending upon the weather. It is important to note that there ARE problems with lettuce quality, due to freeze issues. While most shippers are doing a good job trimming off the problems, it is still noticeable. There are still shippers that are quoting their lettuce, “with problems”, and are NOT scoring freeze damage upon arrival. We are staying away from those shippers.

BROCCOLI–more supplies coming on, and the market is coming down for both bunch and crowns. There is still product coming out of Salinas and Santa Maria, as well as the desert. ALL regions are showing freeze issues in the form of “purple cast” on the bunches. It doesn’t effect the quality or break down, but is IS noticeable.

CAULIFLOWER–quite a range in price here, with as much as a $6-7.00/box SPREAD.  It would be wise to shop around, or make offers, as there is definitely some “wiggle room” with many of the shippers. What you don’t want is to get stuck with high priced cauliflower.

LEAF ITEMS–good supplies of ALL leaf, green, red, and romaine, and prices are down, however, there is freeze damage showing up, especially on romaine. Again, workers are doing a good job trimming the product, so the that appearance is minimal.

CELERY–good deals on all size celery, especially the larger size 24s. There is still quite a price spread, depending upon the shipper, with Dole demanding $3-4.00/box more than some the mostly market shippers. Oxnard is still the major area going, with some shippers transferring product down to Yuma for mixer loading. The desert has started, in a light way, with their Winter deal, and will slowly pick up volume.

ASPARAGUS–with cold temperatures, we are still waiting for the desert grass deal to get going, and all reports show it will be the middle of January before there are decent numbers to quote. Altar, who is one of the largest growers, indicates they won’t have anything local to sell for another 10 days, They are currently bringing in Peruvian asparagus.

Ed Brem

ed@producewest.com